Are there many cultural differences between Vhasshal and Ibronia?
The easiest comparison I can make between Vhasshal and Ibronia is liken them to medieval England and Spain/France.
Vhasshal is made up of a numerous amount of provinces that a thousand years ago were their own country/Kingdoms, but were unified into one Kingdom by Warren’s ancestor. You can see remnants of this in the varying customs and cultures and even dialects between the various provinces. The Vhasshal castle is nestled in the valley that is considered to be “the low country” and those who work in the castle tend to be from that area and have the “low country” accent. With its expansive amount of land, Vhasshal’s economy is largely agricultural, but their proximity to the mountains also means there is a good amount of mining for metal ores and gemstones. All of this combined had made Vhasshal a fairly wealthy country. Though the war with Silvaara almost bankrupted them.
Commoners in Vhasshalans are very community oriented and it is not uncommon to hear someone from one province badmouth someone from another province. On the whole it’s playful banter, but can grow into outright feuds.
The singular most important date in the Vhasshalan calendar is the solstice as it is essentially the Vhasshalan new year/Christmas. It’s said that babies born during the solstice are blessed by the Gods. But there is an old wives’ tale that says never leave your windows open on the last night of solstice as that’s when the Fae folk comes to sneak into people’s homes and swap their children with imposters; IE changelings. So people started a tradition of hanging fake windows on their homes to trick the Fae.
Where Vhasshal is a very large country and has a lot of cultural variances between its provinces, Ibronia is much more homogenous. Their royal court is known to be very nearly militant in their customs and protocols and manners are a very big deal there. They have a rule for EVERYTHING. But in stark contrast to the nobility, the common folk are very friendly and open, but will hold no qualms about speaking their minds and calling you out if they fell you’ve over stepped. They’re loud and energetic and enjoy music and wine and food. It’s considered very bad luck to have a gathering of friends or a party where no music is played/sung. There is even a song that you can sing if you can’t think of anything else or are too drunk to remember the words to any other. But the rule is if you sing it, you have to buy the next round.
Being a smaller country with almost half of its borders lined by the sea, they have a large navy and a proud sailing tradition. As such, a lot of their folk tales tend to be about the sea, sailing, and the various creatures and monsters to be found there. They are also HIGHLY superstitious. They have access to far more exotic foods and spices as a result and their culinary culture is vast and eclectic. They’re economic rivals with the southlands and it is not uncommon for one country to send privateers after the other’s fleets and their cargo. (Yes, you read that correctly. Pirates. Giants, but also pirates.)